News
Main Street receives national accreditation
Main Street Chanute, Inc. has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Trust Main Street Center. The National Trust Main Street Center is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Accredited Main Street Programs are announced annually. Accredited programs have built strong revitalization organizations and demonstrate t...
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Circus of the Kids event rare opportunity for RMS students
Shanna Guiot Tribune publisher Two weeks ago, the gymnasium at Royster Middle School was just that, a gymnasium; now it has transformed into a circus Big Top. But that’s not the most noticeable transformation that has taken place. Students at the school have been transformed into true circus performers who fly on the trapeze, juggle and even eat fire. The practices have been grueling. Some days, kids practiced for three hours or more. The week...
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Erie High to present ‘The Secret of Cell Block 7’
ERIE — You’ve been sent to jail so prepare to be “booked” by a singing Marsha Clark wannabe. In your holding cell, you will meet four zany women who are awaiting trial for murder. As the plot unfolds so do the motives. Who killed Roger Mills? Could it be his pretentious sister, a co-worker who thinks she is Elvis, that sweet little girl next door, or his massage therapist who happens to deal drugs on the side? Come join Erie High School’s dr...
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Home damaged from fire early Sunday
There was a house fire in Chanute at 5:23 a.m. Sunday morning at 1021 S. Central, the home of Darren and Sara Larkin. Darren Larkin was the only family member at home and was not injured. The cause and origin of the fire are still under investigation. The family has found a house and their home was insured, family members said. An account has been set up at the Bank of Commerce for donations. The local fire department said the investigation ...
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First constructed cabin sent to Greenbush
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter The Southeast Kansas Education Service Center-Greenbush on Monday received the first of four constructed cabins as part of its camp and retreat center project. Two of the four cabins were constructed at Chanute High School’s on-campus Technology Facility in collaboration with Neosho County Community College. The other two cabins are near completion at Fort Scott Community College. Greenbush partnered with bot...
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German filmmaker visits Safari Museum
Joshua Vail Tribune Reporter The Safari Film Festival on Saturday had a visitor from Germany with a very specific reason for coming to Chanute. Detlev Konnerth, a filmmaker with Agenda Media, visited the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum as part of his work on a documentary featuring the famous couple.¬† ¬† Konnerth said Agenda Media produces documentaries on various subjects. “Generally I’m doing documentaries of all kinds, everything, war...
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Alzheimer’s considered ‘scary’ disease
While attending the state convention for the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) in Salina,¬†I heard an interesting report on a disease that is striking more and more people. In fact, when a survey was conducted asking “what disease do you fear most?” the number one answer was Alzheimer’s. The following information was shared by the Kansas NARFE Chairman for Alzheimer’s, Janice Neuschafer. The causes of Alzheimer’s disea...
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Treasurer’s office to be closed to vehicle business May 1-7
ERIE — The Neosho County Treasurer’s office will be closed to vehicle business from May 1 through 7 while the state converts to a new system for titling and registering vehicles. Charla Sands, county treasurer, said the Kansas Department of Revenue is putting into place a new DMV system that replaces three aging mainframe systems used for driver licensing, motor vehicle titling and registration, and inventory management with a single, modern ...
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County, city clash over Ash Grove appraisal
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter ERIE -- A war of words has erupted between Neosho County and the City of Chanute following the city commission meeting Monday and Friday’s county commission meeting. In a public release issued by the Neosho County Commission Friday morning, commissioners state that they plan to abide by the appraisal of Hadco International and its tax assessment of Ash Grove Cement Company. The appraisal, which was $107 million...
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Expo: Aging with Attitude
Travis Hendryx Tribune Reporter First Baptist Church and the Kansas State Cooperative Extension Service hosted the Aging with Attitude Regional Expo Friday at FBC’s Good News Center. The day-long event featured a variety of seminars dealing with issues that aging populations face on an everyday basis. Sessions included information on home fire safety and fall prevention, the Medicaid application process, volunteer opportunities and benefits f...
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Ex-Thayer city clerk faces federal charges
Former Thayer City Clerk Laura Whittley has been charged in U.S. District Court. On Oct. 17, 2011, Whittley was charged with 110 misdemeanors and felonies based on her alleged misuse of Thayer city money. After filing the charges, the Neosho County Sheriff’s Office and the Neosho County Attorney’s Office presented the case to the United States Attorney for federal public corruption charges. Whittley was charged April 25 with one count of b...
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Team in place to assist sexual assault victims
SANE and SART may not mean anything right off hand, but the acronyms are crucial for child and adult victims of sexual assault. The 2012 Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign in April encourages communities and individuals to join the conversation on how to connect and respect one another in order to prevent sexual violence. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner is SANE and the Sexual Assault Response Team is SART. The initial responders...
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Former Tribune photographer Hall of Fame honoree at MSSU
Tribune staff Mike Gullett, a former Tribune photographer, was one of two media professionals honored by the Regional Media Hall of Fame at Missouri Southern State University, Joplin, Mo., at an awards dinner on Thursday, April 19. Gullett, photojournalist and professor at Missouri Southern State University and Pittsburg State University, and President/CEO of the Missouri Broadcasters Association, Don Hicks, were this year’s honorees. Gullet...
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Erie to increase number of downtown banners
ERIE — The city of Erie will double the amount of banners for new street light poles on Main Street. The Erie City Council previously approved paying a portion of the cost for 22 banners for the street light poles, with the Chamber of Commerce paying a portion and soliciting sponsorship for the remaining cost. The chamber has already obtained sponsorship for the 22 banners and has started taking sponsors for an additional 22 banners. During i...
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County jobless rate slightly up
The Kansas unemployment rate recorded a slight uptick in March, despite eight of the state’s major industries showing job increases over the month. According to the Kansas Department of Labor report for March, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent, a decline from 6.8 percent a year ago but a slight increase from 6.1 percent in February. The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Kansas was 6.6 percent, down from 7.1 ...
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Erie community garden gets $4,800 grant
Parsons Sun Twenty four community garden projects from around Kansas have been chosen as inaugural grant recipients through the Kansas Community Gardens Project, a joint initiative of the Kansas Health Foundation and K-State Research and Extension. In all, more than $100,000 in grant funds will be distributed this year, the first year of this three-year initiative. “Community gardens have the potential to do everything from providing food to ...
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Neosho County Sheriff offering program to help women protect against sexual assault
Neosho County Sheriff’s office has a new program to help young women defend against sexual assault. Deter and Defend started Tuesday night with a class at Neosho County Community College. The program is a four-hour class, with about half the class devoted to classroom instruction and information, and half devoted to self-defense training. The second class will be held 6 p.m. May 21 at Neosho County Community College, in Stoltz Hall room 7. ...
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Attitude is everything
We’re not going to talk about longitudinal or latitudinal, mainly because spelling them is the extent of my knowledge. BUT… let’s talk about attitudinal. When my granddaughter was two years old, her mom said she was attitudinal. Hmmmm…just wait a few years, that ain’t noth’in! Amen? Attitudes are something we all have. Some are good, some are bad. Nevertheless, whether intentional or not, we share our attitude with others on a daily basis. At...
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Altoona-Midway Middle School and High School to share mascot, colors
At its April 9 regular meeting, the Altoona-Midway USD 387 school board voted to have the same mascot and school colors for Altoona-Midway Highs School and Altoona-Midway Middle School. Both mascots will be the Jets and the colors will be blue and gold. The board voted to finance an energy improvement project with a lease-purchase agreement over eight years with a down-payment of $100,000. The new security system at the combined middle scho...
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Simulation shows life dealing with poverty
Joshua Vail Tribune Here are the numbers: 16.4 percent of the people in Neosho County – and 23.7 percent of the children – live below the poverty line. That statistic comes from the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program’s current community needs assessment.¬† SEK-CAP, together with the Neosho County Agency Resource Team, held a poverty simulation at the Chanute Elementary School cafeteria Tuesday night to raise awareness and understanding ...
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